Swedish Existentialism in Music

Swedish pop artist Jens Lekman has produced his first new album in nearly five years. Lekman, born and reared in Gothenburg, Sweden, is a songwriter, adventurer and retired bingo hall employee.

He says that his last record from 2012, I Know What Love Isn’t, was very difficult to write. The lyrics were very personal, so in his opinion the audience wasn’t able to relate to them.

Album “I know what love isn’t” by Jens Lekman

Lekman, known for his darkly comical storytelling, has now released his calypso- and disco inspired album Life Will See You Now, including the playful, up-tempo tale about lost love, What’s That Perfume That You Wear? featuring steel-pan samples from the 1978 album The Path by Ralph MacDonald, a percussionist known for his soft-rock collaborations with Roberta Flack, George Benson and Burt Bacharach.

Since his 2007 full-length Night Falls Over Kortedala, Lekman has made hopeless romantics of us all.

Album “Life will see you now” by Jens Lekman

“The more you expose yourself and your feelings, the more vulnerable you become,” he says.

Swedish singer and songwriter Jens Lekman

In a musical language, Lekman’s songs serve as a reminder to look closer at the world around us, ti appreciate its beauty, both when its most heartbreaking and most absurd. .

Album “Nights falls over Kortedala” by Jens Lekman

“I don’t want to be the type of musician who puts his work above the people around him,” says Lekman. “The new record is about the transition from the aesthetic to the ethical in search of a sense of duty, joy and responsibility,” he adds.